THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

72 The Hope of Israel: What Is It?
Thus we find that the promise to Abraham embraced
the gift of the whole world, and that the true and sole
heir of that promise is
Jesus Christ; though, through
God's wondrous grace, those who believe in Christ are
reckoned "the children of God. And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom.
8:16, 17). And this makes it impossible that there
should be a future fulfilment of the promise in the
realm of "that which is natural" (1 Cor. 15:46).
"THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE HEIR"
But the Scripture does not leave the matter there.
Chapter III of Galatians states the positive side of the
truth, showing, and with all the clearness that could
be asked, that Christ and His people are the true
"Israel of God" (6:16), the seed of Abraham and
heirs of the promises; but chapter IV presents the
negative side of the same truth, making it evident that
the natural Israel has no longer any standing before
God, or any part in His future purposes. And further
it is shown that the setting aside of "Israel after the
flesh "is not a new revelation given to Paul, but was
to be found in the 0. T. records. For there is evident
reproof in the words : "Tell me, ye that desire to
be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is
written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid,
the other by a freewoman" (Gal. 4:21, 22).
Paul's question implies that those who construed the
Scriptures in the sense that is now-a-days mis-called
"literal," should have known better. And he goes on
to show that these things "are an allegory," in which
Hagar stands for the old covenant and her son, Ishmael,
for the natural Israel ;
whereas Sarah represents the new